The once popular coach was sentenced by an Alameda County Superior Court judge, said Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County District Attorney.

Under a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed nearly 80 felony charges that could have meant a life sentence.

Nisbet was convicted of sexually assaulting three boys between the ages of 12 and 17 from 2009 to 2012. He was arrested in December a day before he was to receive the Northern California PGA's 2013 Junior Golf Leader Award for his work with young golfers.

Nisbet tried to hire a hit man to kill the victims weeks after his arrest. The plan fell through when an informant gave Nisbet's letters to a sheriff's deputy in late February, authorities said.